


Ner Vod'ika

by RobinPlaysTrumpet15



Series: Obi-Wan "The Therapist" Kenobi and How He Changed Everything [15]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Do not copy to another sight, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, No Romance, Rex is a good big brother, death mention, injury mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-23 02:24:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23004247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinPlaysTrumpet15/pseuds/RobinPlaysTrumpet15
Summary: Rex just wants to be there for his little sister.
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano
Series: Obi-Wan "The Therapist" Kenobi and How He Changed Everything [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1584874
Comments: 24
Kudos: 877





	Ner Vod'ika

Ahsoka wanted to follow Anakin and Master Obi-Wan onto the transport up to the cruiser. She didn’t get a chance to. As Obi-Wan led her master away with a gentle hand at the man’s elbow, Rex tapped at her shoulder.

She tore her eyes away reluctantly, turning them on her best friend.

He quirked a half-hearted little smile at her, gesturing with a jerk of his head back towards the dispersing group of men.

“Come on, Sir,” he told her.

Ahsoka didn’t know what they would be doing, but it didn’t matter. She followed the captain anyway.

After all, she was a commander. A Jedi padawan. She may _feel_ like she was trembling apart and shaken down to her core, but that didn’t mean she could show it.

No.

Ahsoka was strong. Everyone said so all the time. Sure, maybe she was reckless, which people told her too, but at least that wasn’t _all_ her fault. Anakin was reckless and he was just fine! He was a knight and had a padawan, so…

The generals were off doing their own things, so that left Commanders Cody and Appo and Ahsoka in charge to handle clean up.

She could do that.

Rex led her off towards their next task, replacing his helmet back on his head.

She lifted her chin, squared her shoulders, and kept an easy distance between her friend and herself in defiance of the nearness and comfort the Force screamed she wanted.

*

Rex tried not to glance at his commander too often. He didn’t want to seem suspicious at all. Then again, she wasn’t paying very close attention, it seemed. She was clearly distracted. Not nearly to the extent Skywalker had been upon Kenobi removing him from the planet’s surface, but…

Well, Rex could recognize that distance and shock in a trooper’s eyes.

Ahsoka may have been a Jedi, but Rex knew what a person looked like when they weren’t alright.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do for her planet-side. Both of the generals had returned to the cruiser, leaving Cody, Appo, Rex, and Ahsoka in charge down here. Rex had things to take care of, and he couldn’t afford to put them off just to take Tano aside and allow her a moment to herself.

She could get that in her own quarters on the ship once they were in the clear. But until then, Rex would keep her close and keep her moving and busy.

The less time there was for the cracks to form, the better she would be. The stronger Rex was for his friend, the more grounded she could remain.

Cody had done this for Rex plenty. Rex could do this for Ahsoka.

Appo wanted them coordinating the transportation of wounded back up to the _Resolute_.

Rex saluted with a “yes, sir!” and off they went.

Tano was good at not showing how much the sight of her injured men got to her.

He could tell it did, of course. It got to everyone after a while. Even Kix. No one liked to see their friends and brothers wounded and awaiting help.

Ahsoka’s shoulders steadily grew more and more tense as time went on and the gunships moved more and more of their troopers. A seemingly permanent crease had appeared between her white-marked eyebrows.

Rex frowned. She was too young for this. Perhaps he had no room to talk, being only eleven years old by comparison, but this was his lot in life. He aged at twice the rate nat-borns did, so at eleven, he was fully grown in body and mind. The _Kaminiise_ didn’t allow them childhoods anyway.

Ahsoka should still have her childhood. But she didn’t. She’d been thrown into a war and made a commander and all but forced to put her life and others’ on the line on a daily basis.

Rex shook his head, finding his eyes stuck on his commander again.

She didn’t deserve this.

They worked at their task for what felt like hours. Cody stopped by every so often, brushing a gentle elbow against Rex’s and asking with his eyes about Tano. Making sure she was okay. His older brother had whispered to him at one point that he was worried about her.

Rex could only agree. He didn’t know what else to do.

One trooper Tano looked after until he could get on a transport was not in a good way. One of the shinier medics left on the ground with them had relayed a message from Kix, informing Rex that the trooper would need serious surgery if he was to live, and it would have to happen soon. It was the sort of thing that the legion’s medics weren’t equipped to handle. Sending the man to a medical facility was the only option.

The problem being… there wasn’t time.

Rex sent off a transport of wounded men and medics, then joined his commander with the man.

The trooper was unconscious, probably from pain or shock. The medic overseeing him kept pressure on a wound just to the right side of his chest.

Ahsoka looked lost just standing there. One of her hands hovered in the air above the man’s head, but Rex couldn’t guess as to what she was doing. Probably some Force stuff.

He didn’t say anything.

Tano did.

“He doesn’t have a name,” she whispered, voice tight and strained with pain. “Just a CT number.”

Rex purposefully did not ask how the situation was looking. He didn’t want to know, and he had a sneaking suspicion that he already did.

“He’ll be alright,” he lied.

Ahsoka didn’t respond.

The next transport arrived, kitted out and ready to take their trooper. Rex helped maneuver the gurney into the gunship and secure it into place. An oxygen mask was slid into place over the man’s nose and mouth. A different medic attached a portable heart monitor to his right index finger, the monitor almost immediately spitting out a weak, wavering beat.

“We’ve got a pulse. Let’s move!”

Rex and Ahsoka stepped off the gunship and watched as the door slid smoothly shut. The transport lifted easily into the air and was off into the atmosphere again, heading for their cruiser.

Somehow, that had been their last medical transport. He’d been found so late…

Rex knew they should report back to Appo and get a new assignment. There was more to do. They still had to finish with clean up (which seemed from a distance to be going blessedly quick). Tracinya Platoon could probably stand to be checked on as they tended the slowly dwindling smoldering remains of the funeral pyre.

Rex wondered if he’d have troopers coming and asking them if they could sit and talk again like they had just a few nights ago. Not many of the 501st had joined in then (it had seemed like a lot for how small the 212th was in comparison), but enough had been there for the word to spread.

His thoughts suddenly derailed at the feeling of a smaller body pressing into his side.

Ahsoka was shaking.

He didn’t dare say anything yet, or bring it up, lest the teenager pull away.

“You lied to me.”

Rex’s eyes widened in shock. He turned his gaze down at the fifteen-year-old Togruta.

“Commander?”

“His designation is CT-50-9096. His squad didn’t make it out of the battle. He’s from Balac Company. His helmet had the wrong shade of blue on it, like the rest of his squad. It was too dark.”

Ahsoka stared straight ahead of them, blue eyes fixed hard somewhere beyond the horizon. Her voice was shaking.

“He smiled at me once, after one of those nights where no one sleeps. I don’t know anything else about him, except that he was nice and warm when he didn’t have to be. And…” The little Jedi trembled harder, pressing further into Rex’s armored side. “I saw him die in my dreams last night.”

Rex felt his blood run cold.

One of the things he liked least about working with Jedi were their dreams and visions. Very rarely were they about good things.

He did not ask for an explanation. He didn’t need one.

“I want to be wrong, Rex…” Tano swallowed. Rex knew the kind of gummy lump she clearly wanted to be rid of.

“I don’t want him to die.”

Finally, she turned into him, hiding her face into the side of his chest plate. Her movement forced herself under his arm, so he settled it carefully around the padawan’s shoulders.

He scanned the area around them with hard eyes.

This was what he’d wanted to protect her from. She deserved to have time and privacy to feel and hurt and fall apart, but sometimes that just wasn’t how it worked out. Sometimes the world throws too much at you and it doesn’t matter where you are. The world demands to be listened to and heard.

This girl deserved so much better than this.

Suddenly he didn’t care that they still had duties to attend to. It didn’t matter that everything hadn’t yet been taken care of. Ahsoka, one of his best friends, needed him now.

The communicator in his helmet chirped once at him. Cody’s voice came through a second later from the other end of the line.

_“Rex? You two okay?”_

He didn’t dare respond aloud in case Ahsoka heard him. He reached with his free hand and tapped at the external button for his comlink once. It sent a beep over to Cody.

_[No.]_

_“Can’t call a transport just yet,”_ Cody continued. _“But Appo and I have set up command in the shade of a downed gunship. It’s upright and stable. The two of you can rest in there for now.”_

Two taps.

_[Yes.]_

Rex sighed before he began to speak, hoping the soft sound wouldn’t startle his commander.

“We should report to Appo and Cody, Commander.”

Ahsoka nodded, sniffling slightly and pulling back from Rex a step. He let his arm fall back to his side, if only for the time it took them to get to the gunship. The girl did not look up at him.

He hated to make it sound like he didn’t want to be there for her. He hated to make it seem like her concerns were less than important. But he couldn’t just come out and tell her that he was going to hide her away from everyone to give her the time and space she needed. She’d never agree. She was too stubborn.

So he led the way across dusty landscape, looking for the gunship Cody had mentioned.

It wasn’t hard to spot.

They approached slowly, Tano almost trudging at his side.

“Captain Rex, Commander Tano,” Appo greeted them.

“Commanders.” Rex saluted.

“Commanders,” Ahsoka acknowledged, attempting for a smile. “What have you got for us now?”

“Well,” Cody started, “we’re a little light on assignments at the moment. Go ahead and take a rest in the shade for a moment.”

Rex knew that was a lie. There was plenty to do. But he appreciated his brother doing this for their young Jedi anyway, and he definitely appreciated Appo going along with it.

“Thank you, commanders.”

Ahsoka muttered her thanks and followed Rex into the gunship.

They settled in the far back where the sunlight didn’t shine through. The space was dim and smelled of smoke and burnt metal.

Ahsoka sat herself down on the durasteel floor, leaning against the wall. She curled her knees up to her chest and hid her face in her arms.

Rex frowned, watching her. He hesitated just a moment before reaching up and pulling off his helmet. He settled beside the girl, placing his helmet on the floor within reach.

“Ahsoka…” he sighed, intentionally using her name. She didn’t need to be a commander right now.

“I’m better than this…” she mumbled wetly. “I know I am.”

“Better than feeling?” he questioned. “It’s normal to feel things, Ahsoka. I’d be worried if you didn’t.”

“Masters Kenobi and Skywalker don’t-”

“Do you really believe that?”

Ahsoka did not answer at first. She sat quietly a few seconds before giving a little shrug.

“Listen, Ahsoka. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the greatest at talking about feelings,” he said on a sigh, “but I do like to think I’m pretty good at listening.” He nudged his elbow at the padawan’s shoulder lightly.

“So if you want to talk,” he continued, “I’m always here to listen.”

“Thanks, Rex,” Ahsoka mumbled, still hiding.

The girl shifted again, listing sideways to lean her weight into Rex’s side. He didn’t hesitate to wrap his arm around her this time, squeezing her reassuringly.

“And if you don’t want to talk, that’s fine too. I’ll be here for you regardless.”

Ahsoka sniffled, giving a short, wet chuckle.

“Like a big brother,” she teased, settling more comfortably against him.

Rex smiled.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’ll be your ori’vod, vod’ika.”

She shuddered again on a little sob, wrapping her arms around his middle in a fierce hug.

 _‘It’s alright, little sister,’_ Rex thought to himself, holding her tightly. _‘I’ll be here to hold you together when you feel like falling apart.’_

“Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. If you have any ideas for things you'd like to see in this series, I'd be happy to hear them.
> 
> Also, if you're interested, I have a blog for this series over on Tumblr. You can [find it here](https://obiwanthetherapistkenobi.tumblr.com/). Come say hi if you'd like!


End file.
